Absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins, pantiliners and incontinent pads are devices that are typically worn in the crotch region of an undergarment. More specifically, sanitary napkins and pantiliners, for example, are worn by women in a pair of panties that is normally positioned between the wearer's legs, adjacent to the perineum area. Sanitary napkins and pantiliners are designed to absorb and retain body fluids or discharges (e.g., urine and menses) from the body of women and to prevent body and clothing from soiling. A wide variety of shapes and dimensions of sanitary napkins and pantiliners is currently used by women for the collection of body fluids.
The menstrual period is very troublesome for women and almost all the women are in a depressed mood during the period. Conventional sanitary napkins have a white color or a simple combination of light colors to provide a clean appearance. Because of the appearance, such sanitary napkins normally do not affect women's feeling, i.e., they do not help to decrease or change women's depressed mood during the menstruation period.
Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3021237 discloses a sanitary napkin having wings that are provided with a color or pattern on both the body contacting surface and the garment contacting surface. This publication teaches that by using a color or pattern of the sanitary napkin which is similar to that of the undergarment, the use of the sanitary napkin can not be easily recognized from the outside by others. This publication, however, is silent about a concrete structure of the sanitary napkin that can be practically manufactured nor a design that can affect the women's mood in the menstruation period. It is because this publication merely focuses on the similarity of the color or pattern between the sanitary napkin and the undergarment, and it does not recognize the need for improving women's depressed mood through the design of sanitary napkin during the menstruation period.
Thus, there is a need for an absorbent article that can provide an emotional benefit to users, and thus decrease users' melancholic mood without distress or inconvenience.